China’s Xi to Make Rare Stop-off in Zimbabwe on Route for Africa Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, is the first Chinese president to visit Zimbabwe since 1996. He is seen likely to try to glean some insight into who will succeed 91-year-old Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, left.

Associated Press

China is expected to pledge more investment and development aid in Africa as President Xi Jinping embarks a five-day trip to the continent this week, beginning with a visit to Zimbabwe. As WSJ’s Te-Ping Chen and Patrick McGroarty report:

Mr. Xi’s Zimbabwe visit on Tuesday—the first trip by a Chinese president to the country since 1996—kicks off a trip that includes a summit in South Africa with African leaders later in the week.

His trip is set to be closely watched by foreign investors as an indicator of the extent to which China will plow new aid and investment into Africa. Beijing has fostered close economic ties with African economies, but a slowdown in Chinese growth has raised questions over whether the government would temper its hefty annual investment on the continent.

China is Africa’s top trade partner, exchanging $222 billion of goods and resources with the continent last year. Chinese firms are building roads and railways across the continent, often in exchange for resources like half of the 1.8 million barrels of oil that Angola pumps each day.

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